December 4, 1998 USS Donald Cook was officialy commissioned in a ceremony at Philadelphia, Penn. The ship is named in honor of Marine Col. Donald G. Cook, a Vietnam prisoner of war who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

June 21, 2000 USS Donald Cook departed on its maiden deployment to the Mediterranean Sea and Arabian Gulf , as part of the USS George Washington (CVN 73) Battle Group.

DDG 75 provided support for USS Cole (DDG 67) after terrorists attack in Gulf of Aden, Yemen, and returned to home port Dec. 19.

The guided-missile destroyer successfully completed its Pierside Restricted Availability and a Light Off Assessment (LOA) on July 13, 2001. During PRAV, Sailors worked hard installing and training on new equipment and updating existing systems. Following PRAV and LOA, the ship returned to sea to conduct systems testing and training.

During August 2001, USS Donald Cook participated in the Joint Task Force Exercise (JTFEX) for the USS Theodore Roosevelt Battle Group in the U.S. Atlantic Fleet Operating Areas along the Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina coasts.

December 5, 2002 DDG 75 departed Naval Station Norfolk for a six-month deployment, with the USS Harry S. Truman Carrier Battle Group, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. The entire battle group has prepared for this deployment over the last eight months through a series of increasingly demanding exercises and operations, culminating in the recently completed Joint Task Force Exercise 03-1, which certified them as ready to deploy.

March 19, 2003 By order of President George W. Bush, four ships and two submarines currently assigned to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet launched 42 Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles (TLAMs) in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The four ships are USS Donald Cook and USS Cowpens (CG 63) in the Red Sea, along with USS Milius (DDG 69) and USS Bunker Hill (CG 52) in the Arabian Gulf. USS Cheyenne (SSN 773) and USS Montpelier (SSN 765) were the submarines involved in the Tomahawk launches.

May 23, USS Donald Cook returned to homeport after a six-month underway period, supporting operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom in the Mediterranean.

September 1, 2005 USS Donald Cook departed Norfolk for a sheduled deployment, with the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) Carrier Strike Group, in support of the Global War on Terrorism.

March 9, The Donald Cook returned to homeport after a six-month deployment in in the 5th Fleet AoR.

January 17, 2007 A test of a U.S. Navy Tomahawk Block IV cruise missile was conducted from USS Donald Cook, commanded by Cmdr. John M. Esposito, in the Gulf of Mexico. The Tomahawk missile flew a fully guided 645-nautical mile test flight using global positioning satellite and digital scene matching area correlator navigation. The one-hour, 30-minute flight concluded at a target and recovery site on Eglin Air Force Base land range.

March 7, The guided-missile destroyer is currently in the Atlantic Ocean conducting trainings in support of Standing NATO Maritime Group (SNMG) 1.

March 21, DDG 75 recently departed Boston, Mass., after a scheduled four-day port visit.

May 19, USS Donald Cook departed for a six-month underway period, as part of Surface Strike Group (SSG) 07-2, along with USS De Wert (FFG 45).

June 21, The destroyer pulled to Souda Bay, Crete, for a routine port call.

July 12, USS Donald Cook is currently in Odessa, Ukraine, participating in exercise Sea Breeze 2007, a two-week joint invitational and combined maritime exercise held annually in the Black Sea and at various land-based Ukrainian training facilities with the goals of enhancing multinational interoperability, developing Black Sea-nation maritime security capabilities, and improving involvement in Navy Europe’s larger Black Sea Theater Security Cooperation strategy.

November 16, USS Donald Cook, commanded by Cmdr. William J. Parker III, completed interoperability exercises with the Royal Moroccan Navy frigate Mohammed V (FFL 611) Nov. 5, conducting helicopter operations between the two ships during the ship's six-day visit to the country. This Moroccan engagement capped a highly successful deployment for DDG 75 including 26 port visits to 13 countries and 17 underway exercises.

April 7, 2008 The guided-missile destroyer is currently transiting the Atlantic Ocean to participate in the Joint Warrior 081, a United Kingdom-led multi-national warfare exercise, off the coast of Scotland April 19 - May 2.

April 29, 2009 The Donald Cook is currently participating in Exercise UNITAS Gold in the Atlantic Ocean.

July 20, USS Donald Cook, commanded by Cmdr. Derek B. Granger, departed Norfolk for a scheduled Mediterranean deployment.

January 29, 2010 DDG 75 recently pulled into Barcelona, Spain, for a rare port visit.

February 18, USS Donald Cook returned to homeport after a seven-month underway period in the U.S. 5th and 6th Fleet Areas of Responsibility in support of anti-piracy and maritime security missions.

September 19, 2011 USS Donald Cook, commanded by Cmdr. J. Lee Bennett, departed Naval Station Norfolk for an independent deployment in the U.S. 5th and 6th Fleet AoR.

December 24, The guided-missile destroyer pulled into Port Louis, Mauritius, for a four-day port visit.